


Your bruise looks like a galaxy(makes me wanna close my eyes)

by Crymore



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: IMPLIED sex but nothing explicit, Kissing, M/M, Ray’s a badass, Secret Relationship, Sword Fighting, and he needs a hug, badly written fight sequence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 16:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16122380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crymore/pseuds/Crymore
Summary: While investigating a ship in the timestream, Ray shows he’s far more capable than the others had previously thought.





	Your bruise looks like a galaxy(makes me wanna close my eyes)

**Author's Note:**

> So, I can’t write fighting sequences. I also know nothing about swords or dueling. But! I do know martial arts! This was requested by an anon. I hope i did it justice.

Ray sighed as Len’s arms tightened around his hips

“I can, believe it or not, handle myself, Leonard.”

The thief scoffed and leaned up further from the bed, letting the sheets pool around his waist. “Forgive me for having doubts on our illustrious leader’s decision to send the team onto another time ship, because the last time went so well.”

Ray rolled his eyes but leaned back further into his… his whatever. Significant other, kinda romantic partner, repressed closeted dork who seemingly can’t physically showcase his real emotions in anyway without horrible repercussions? 

Whatever. Len was his, he was Len’s. Who needed labels anyway? (Raymond absolutely needed labels, who was he kidding. He needed a title to call Len and this relationship that they keep hidden from the rest of the team). 

Len brushed his lips feather light across the skin of Ray’s neck before drawing a pattern with the tip of his tongue. Ray squealed deep in his throat and drew away as the thief chuckled. 

Len’s hand immediately grasped Ray’s neck, pressing the cool saliva into the genius’s skin before pulling him into a kiss. The thief easily licked into the other’s mouth, tracing Ray’s teeth and the roof of his mouth and sucking on Ray’s tongue. It was filthy and intimate and it made Ray’s stomach curl in want and face flush.

Len pulled away and nuzzled the soft skin of Ray’s shoulder before sighing. “Shame I cant mark you up.” He ended his sentence with a quick peck to the joint. 

It wasn’t meant to have a response. Ray gave one anyway. 

“You could.”

Len looked up, eyes soft and open in a way Ray has only recently been allowed to see. 

“Ray, baby, you wouldn’t want that.”

Ray wanted to protest. Wanted to tell Len he didn’t care if the team knew or if they disapproved of them and that Ray wasn’t ashamed of him (Ray briefly thought maybe it was Len that was ashamed of Ray), but Gideon broke the silence in the room. 

“The Captain is requesting a meeting on the bridge in fifteen minutes.”

Len sighed and dropped his head back onto Ray’s shoulder. 

“Fifteen minutes is a lot of time when you really think about it.” Ray said hopefully.

Len chuckled before dragging his lips up Ray’s neck and kissing his jaw. “Not long enough for what I want to do to you.” Ray shivered when Leonard’s breath tickled his ear. “Get dressed.” He ordered softly. “Wear that blue sweater I like.”

Len left in a breeze while Ray was still dazed. 

—-

Len was right. The team really should stop investigating time ships in the stream. 

Time pirates seemed to be a bigger problem than Rip let on (typical) and once again, the crew of the Waverider was trapped. 

This ship, the Hellscape, was far more run down and cluttered than the last pirate ship. Especially more cluttered since there was a shitty cage in the middle of the bridge. 

Ray wasn’t sure exactly what had happened. He, Sara, Rip, and Len walked through the dirty halls of the Hellscape for long minutes, then Ray blinked and he was in a cage, with a bleeding Sara, angry Rip, and a Len with a black eye. Ray figures they must have drugged the lot of them, and the other three caused a fuss before Ray became conscious. 

Len instantly became aware of Ray, eyes sharpened and dangerous, flickering between the dark haired hero and the captain of the Hellscape on the edge of the cage. He thief stretched slightly to reach Raymond, subtly pressing the flat of his foot on his shoulder. 

It was a message. Stay down, play dead. The foot pressed a little more solidly. Len was scared, worried. Ray breathed out slowly to calm himself. Len rarely was nervous, and if he was, Ray should be too. 

Ray vaguely recalled that that shoulder was the same one Len had kissed not that long ago. 

Because of the drug, Ray was still out of it, hearing snippets of the Hellscape’s Captain’s speech. Something about money, time, and power, Ray didn’t really know nor care. He was 80% positive though that the captain was quoting Doctor Who. 

Regardless. The guy was ranting and giving Ray a headache. The worst part was Ray wanted to do something. This guy had hurt his crew and his not-boyfriend was silently but expressively telling him to play possum and to do nothing.

Whatever he did to Sara was making her slip in and out of focus, Rip was wounded in his leg, immobile and glaring, and Len, from what Ray could see, was bruised up all on the side of his face and scowling. 

“… and once your ship is under my command, there really won’t be any time that I can’t reach.” The captain if the Hellscape concluded, probably smirking victoriously outside the cage. “Oh, and tell the tall one he can sit up now. I know he’s been awake for some time.”

Ray’s heart seized in his chest, but he still didn’t move. Not until Len wiggle his foot under Ray’s shoulder and pushed up, telling him it was okay to move. Ray didn’t need the Hellscape’s captain’s permission, he need Cold’s.

Ray slowly rose up from the ground and faced his captor. He looked young and smug. Ray wanted to insult him somehow, threaten him for hurting his friends and promising to hurt the others. His brown eyes quickly flickered around, taking in his surroundings fully. Steel bars, wide open area outside of that, bio-reader locking mechanism on the cage, maps and book everywhere. By the time Ray was on his feet, the captain was smirking widely and feral. 

“Well, you’re certainly a big boy, aren’t you?”

Was that flirting? Was he flirting? The sudden air of anger behind him from Len suggested that he was flirting. Ray didn’t respond. 

“Seems your captain pretty lackadaisical with his crew. Despite his best efforts, none of ‘em could fight very well.”

Ray could imagine the fight. The four barely out of the dazing drug; Sara trying valiantly but weakly, Rip backing her up. Len in the back trying to protect Raymond and the others simultaneously. 

Regardless, Raymond steeled himself. He felt foolish for leaving his suit behind, but even Len had agreed it was a good idea, seeing as if the time pirates were evil, they could hock the futuristic tech for millions in the past. 

The captain trailed his eyes lazily up and down Ray and the hero felt exposed. “Say, you like movies? I love old movies. I love it when the underdog offers himself up to protect his friends. I love that troupe.” He chuckled, stepping closer and curling his fingers around the bars around Ray’s arms. “But I also love those old sword fights. Hardly anyone knows how to handle a broadsword anymore.”

Ray let the insinuation click in his head. “You… want to have a sword fight?”

The captain’s lip curled almost devilishly. “I like that idea, Stretch. Lessay you and me have an old fashioned duel. You win, I let you four and the rest of you crew and ship go. Scotch free.” He paused for effect. “But if I win… I get to kill you in front of your crew and then I take everything there is. Deal?” He stuck his hand through the bars for a hand shake. Ray was very tempted to grab the hand and pull the captain in so fast he’d smack his head against the bars, something badass like that. Something Mick or Sara would do. 

Instead he looked at the captain very heard, ignoring the sound of others stirring in protest. 

“How can I trust you just won’t double cross me.” He demanded. 

“Palmer…” Rip cautioned. A warning. 

The captain seemed thrilled. “No real way unless you kill me. Ain’t no one on this ship but me, anyhow.” 

Ray could practically feel Len soak in the information the captain carelessly gave. Ray could make his own conclusions. If the captain was the only one here, he could be easily over powered, and he knew that. That’s why he heavily drugged them and probably fought them while they were still dazed. Ray was never good with sedatives. They put him under too quick and for too long. 

“I win…” Ray started tentatively, “… we leave.”

“Raymond.” Leonard rasped. Ray didn’t turn around. If he did he might’ve cried. “I’ll fight you, dammit, leave him alone!” Leonard shouted, sounding pained.

“I’ll fight you.”

Sara moaned loudly, probably trying to say “No, I’ll do it.” But the drug was still heavily effecting her. 

Rip was protesting louder than Leonard was and Ray almost felt flattered if the circumstances were different. 

“I’ll fight you and you’ll let my crew and me go. That’s the deal?” Ray said sternly, trying to look intimidating. 

The captain laughed loudly, hysterically. “If you kill me, sure.”

Ray never was okay with the idea of killing someone, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one. (Thank you Star Trek for that horribly depressing life lesson).

The hero let his crew mates argue (well, Len and Rip argued, Sara groaned helplessly but angrily) for a few seconds before nodding wordlessly to their captor. 

The captain smiled widely, all teeth and no lip. Ray noticed with an unsettling feeling that all the teeth were unnaturally white and straight. Far too nice for a time pirate. 

Once Ray was out of the cage, a heavy sword was thrusted into his hands. The hero didn’t realize how dizzy he was until moving around. He could barely focus on the weight in his hands, let alone the man in front of him. 

The young captain gripped his own sword and smirks as if he already won. “Mordecai.”

“What?” Ray questioned blearily. 

“My name, so you know who kills you.”

How cliched. He really was like a Doctor Who villain of the week. 

Out of memory, Ray corrected his stance, adjusted his hands properly into the familiar grip, and smiled at the old feeling of this. The weight of the sword, the calm breathing before the fight, the stare off. Ray missed this, in a way. Why did he quit sword fighting again?

The captain, Mordecai, looked over Raymond’s expert form with question. He probably wasn’t expecting an opponent who knew what they were doing. 

“Sorry,” Ray apologized. “I already promised my friend Mick only he can kill me.”

Mordecai sneered. “Just because you know how to hold a sword doesn’t mean you can win.”

‘No, but the fifteen plus years of competitive sword fighting and fencing does.’ The hero thought smugly to himself. ‘But don’t get ahead of yourself Ray.’

Mordecai thrusted the sword to Ray’s abdomen, but Ray saw it coming when the captain drew back his arms to get the power. Ray side-stepped and smacked the captains sword with his own.

Mordecai growled, as if Ray defending himself was an insult, but persisted nonetheless.

The sound of metal striking metal fulled the stale air of the time ship’s bridge. The Hellscape’s captain was no slouch when it came to fighting. If sword fighting really became lost to time in the future, then Mordecai truly was the last sword master, a title he would have deserved anyway. Captain Mordecai was all about aiming for critical areas- the stomach, the hands, the neck, the calves. Places were if he were to strike or slice would cause serious damage to Ray. Ray, though, was an expert at blocking. The hero’s feet moved and shuffled to dodge and he kept his sword vertical, the preferable position for blocking oncoming attacks. In the back of Ray’s mind, he could hear the voices of his past instructors guiding him. Where to move, when to strike, how to block. It was invigorating fighting like this. Ray could swallow down the nausea and focus solely on nothing else but Mordecai’s and his own movements. 

Mordecai was tiring out, becoming sloppier in his attacks, slower and angrier. Ray was excellent at fighting for many reasons, the one he was most famous for was his patience. Ray’s tactic was to tire his opponent out before attacking himself. 

‘God, I sound like some kind of psycho hunter.’ Ray thought absently to himself as he jilted his blade upward, the tip slicing a delicate cut to the back of Mordecai’s pale hand. The tension at which Mordecai was gripping the handle caused the wound to bleed more profusely than normal, slicking his grip and causing him to fumble. 

At this point, Mordecai was desperate. Throwing all sound fighting etiquette out the window, he raised his sword up high, leaving his everything exposed. Ray brought his sword vertical above his head, blocking the oncoming downward strike. Ray twisted his blade, almost wrapping it around Mordecai’s, and dragged both swords down and to the side before Ray twisted and gave the most powerful side-kick he could to the captain’s rib-cage. 

The shock from the kick, coupled with the slippery handle and sudden twist, caused Mordecai to drop his sword as he fell back. The captain’s brown eyes went from hazy to pin-point sharp in a second. Before Mordecai could scramble to grab his sword, Ray kicked it away and poised the top of his blade to the throat of the captain. 

Ray’s arms were positioned perfectly, handle close to his ribs, blade coming across his body (“It’s a weapon and a shield, Raymond. Only fools think otherwise.” Thank you Master Beaudoin). Ray breathed out heavily, only just realizing that he was holding his breath as he dealt his last strike. 

The hero and his captor locked eyes for long seconds before either of them spoke. 

“Well?” Mordecai spat. “What are you waiting for? Kill me.”

Ray nearly blanched at the thought. He was never taught how to kill with a sword (although, he could reverse engineer it from where his masters told him not to stab-).

“No.”

Mordecai seethed. “What are you? Some kind of coward?!”

Ray kept his stance but leaned in slightly more, just to put a small amount of pressure on the captain’s neck. “We agreed if I beat you, you’d let us go.” Raymond grounded out. “You lost your sword, your at my mercy. I won.”

“I said if you kill, Stretch.” He hissed. “Until then, the game’s still on-“

Ray pressed the sword closer to his throat. “The cage has a bio-reading lock. If your dead I can’t open it.”

Mordecai looked up and his lips drew back into a snarling smile. “Well, as smart as you are pretty. Aren’t you the complete package?” 

The hero didn’t respond in words, but did lean over and grabbed his captor by the coat sleeve. Ray expertly maneuvered Mordecai to his front, the long blade of the sword now pressed to the pale column of the captain’s neck, before shuffling forward to the cage. 

Mordecai mumbles something obscene as he unlocked the cage, the blood from the wound on the back of his hand smearing slightly on the surface bio-reader. 

The door swung open and Ray, in a moment of idiocity, threw Mordecai away from himself to look in on his crew mates. 

Sara was still nodding, trying desperately to stay conscious. Rip had managed to find a strip of cloth somewhere on him and made a make-shift bandage for his wound. Leonard was slowly rising to stand, a bit wobbly and blue-grey eyes never leaving Ray’s form. Ray has no doubt Len was watching the fight with rapt, unblinking attention.

Those typically carefully guarded eyes went from joyful and relieved to fearful in a half second. 

Instinctively, Ray threw a mule kick behind him, barely registering the cry Mordecai gave when the heel of Ray’s foot struck his knee. Ray turned as Mordecai threw a punch, but Ray angled his body so the fist barely brushed against his shoulder. Ray’s arms locked barred Mordecai’s arm across his body, twisting the appendage back painfully.

Ray knew Mordecai’s arm would come of the socket. He knew it would become dislocated with an awful pop, so he sucked in his gut was a gasp and held his breath to avoid the oncoming nausea that would inevitably come as Ray continued to draw the arm back. When it did pop out of place, the captor cried in pain, which Ray quickly silenced with a sharp knee to the face, knocking Mordecai our cold. 

Ray let go of the captain, breathing a little heavy and swallowing air to displace the feeling of churning in his stomach. 

Ray looked to his teammates. All of whom were regarding him with various degrees of surprised. Leonard was the most, if his comically wide eyes and slacked jaw were anything to go by. 

“Um, we should go now.”

The four of them managed their way to the shuttle pod with minor difficulty in relative silence. It was only when they were all seated and Rip started to leave when Sara spoke.

“Ray, what the fuck?” 

It sounded more like “Way, wahtda phuk?” But Ray was sure he knew what she meant. Ray also played dumb. 

“How do you mean? Also, stop taking you’re still kinda drugged.”

“I think what Miss Lance I’d referring to is the fact you had wielded sword expertly and subdued our captor in record timing, Dr. Palmer.”

Ah, Rip. Always so unhelpful. 

I’m with them.” Len chimes in from his seat. “Where the hell did that come from, Raymond?”

Ray winced inwardly. Len only called him Raymond when he was peeved. He could hear the little tremors of fear that riddled Leonard’s sentence. Guilt was heavy in Ray’s stomach at the thought. He didn’t mean to worry Len. 

“We should, uh, worry about that later.” Ray argued weakly.

“That was the weakest argument I’ve ever hear you give, Dr. Palmer but for once I agree.”

The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Sara finally dozed off entirely, Rip shifted his leg uncomfortably, and Leonard’s pinky kept twitching in Ray’s direction, brushing against his thigh.

Ray wanted to grasped Leonard’s hand and tell him everything was alright. Show Len he wasn’t hurt and to help Len heal from his own wounds. He wanted to grab Len’s bruised face and kiss him until Len gasps for air, held him until Len complained, coo soft words until Len called him a sap. But he didn’t. Couldn’t. Leonard wanted everything under wraps, and Ray would respect his wishes if it killed him. 

Ray still stuck his pinky out and wrapped it around Len’s silently. 

The pod docked, and Ray picked up Sara debtors the four of them silently made their way back into the Waverider. The rest of the crew flocked to them (Mick more so to Len and Kendra more so to Sara) and it took Rip shouting as he hobbled to the med-bay to quiet everyone. 

It was hours later, after Rip, Sara, and Len were all in med-bay getting fixed, when the whole crew unintentionally gather on the bridge. Rip was fixing something with Jax and Stein, Kendra and Sara were sitting close to each other on the floor, softly talking, Ray was on his way to the kitchen, and Mick and Len walked out of med-bay (Len was thankfully fully healed and bruise free) when Sara shouted, “You gonna tell me how you can kick someone’s ass, Palmer? Or am I gonna have to call up Oliver?” 

Len stalked over to Ray. (Ray tried not to looked happy, tried not to look at Len period. Ray did anyway). “I’m with blonde, Raymond.” He drawled, face mere inches from Ray’s (like this morning, but less pleasant circumstances). “How the hell did you do that?”

Jax looked up from the panel he was working on. “Wait, what did Ray do?”

Len’s hard, unreadable eyes never left Ray’s mildly (majorly) worried ones as he answered. “Ray can apparently wield a sword and fight like nobody’s business.”

“We wanna know how.” Sara concluded. 

Great. Now everyone was looking at him.

Naturally, Ray rushed out his words to sooth the team as soon as possible. 

“I wasn’t really good at team sports in middle school so I took up fencing and judo to make up for it and I got too good at fencing to my teacher sent me to someone else who taught me how to fight with a greymore and after I got my black belt in judo I just met taking other martial art classes.” Wow, that was the dweebiest way to revel to your team that you have four black belts and over fifteen years of sword fighting experience. 

Sara blanched. “You knee martial arts this whole time and never sparred with me?”

The team then erupted. Jax and Kendra were grilling him about his black belts and Sara was bemoaning that lost time she had for not sparring with someone who was familiar with martial arts. Rip was trying to hush everyone and Stein was looking at Ray oddly, as if it was too unbelievable that he was a fighter. Mick was looking at him strangely. Kinda like how Len used to look at him before they got together, all hungry with half-lidded eyes.

Despite all the voices around him, all Ray really heard was Len’s little hysterical giggle. 

Well, that wasn’t good. 

“You sword fight.” Len managed to wheeze, an uncharacteristic smile stretching across his face. He looked up and peered into Ray’s confused eyes. “Of course you sword fence, you nerd.” Then Len’s hands gently grabbed Ray’s face and pulled him down into a kiss. 

Ray gasped in shock. Len must have a concussion or something. Only good reason. But the second Ray opened his mouth Len slipped his tongue between his teeth and deepened the kiss. Len pulled away, still oddly giddy and Ray just stared dumbfounded at his not-boyfriend. 

The bridge was silent for a beat, but then Jax wolf whistled and the team broke out into a fight over a bet. Ray want really paying attention, Len was pulling away from the crew and down the hall towards Ray’s room. Ray didn’t miss the smirk he threw at Mick. 

Len pushed Ray onto the bed before sitting on his lap, pulling him into another thought-halting kiss. 

“Um, you know they, like, saw that, right?” Ray stammered as Len pulled away. 

Len placed a hand on Ray’s chest and pushed him back fully onto the immaculately made bed. “Good.” He growled, adjusting his hips slightly in a way that made Ray blush. “Can’t have anyone thinking you’re up for grabs anymore. You should’ve seen the way Mick lit up when Sara let it slip you dislocated that bastard’s arm.” He leaned down and kissed Ray’s neck before biting. Ray gasped and arched off the bed. “I don’t share, Raymond.” He purred against the bruised skin before drawing the flesh between his lips and sucking on it hard . “Ain’t gonna leave any question as to who you belong to.”

Ray flushed, face burning and the events that happened less than two hours again already leaving his mind. This was great. Len was okay with coming out with their relationship. Awesome. Ray was still Ray though, and naturally, Ray interrupted this very awesome moment. 

“Does this mean I’m your boyfriend now?”

Len sat up and looked down at Ray, eyes bearing into the hero’s with a heaven possessive glare. “Ray, if anyone tries to take you away from me, I’ll rip out their throat with my teeth. Of course we’re boyfriends.”

The thought of Len’s mouth, which was just moments ago on his own neck, marking him, on someone else’s in an act of protectiveness. And man, doesn’t that just do things to Ray. 

“Okay?” Len asked. Ray nodded dumbly, high on Adrenalin that he gets whenever Len’s like this. The thief smirked, shucking off his leather jacket and tossing it to the floor. “Good.” He hummed lowly, eyes becoming cloudy with want. Slowly, almost teasingly, Len stripped off his shirt, revealing the expanse of skin beneath. Once shirtless and smirking, Len ran his hands up and down Ray’s still clothed torso. “Because I believe we were in the middle of something very important.”

Ray couldn’t stop the blinding smile that pulled across his face when Leonard leaned down to kiss him.


End file.
